Gilbert Longabaugh

Gilbert Longabaugh (1820-1873) was an American businessman from Iowa City, Iowa. He died of cholera while riding the Oregon Trail with his sister Alice Longabaugh.

Biography
Gilbert Longabaugh was born in Iowa City, Iowa in 1820 to an Episcopalian family, and he was the older brother of Alice Longabaugh. Longabaugh developed fixed political views, admiring President Franklin Pierce, supporting property rights, and being a "Doughface" (a Northerner who supported the Southern Democrats). Despite his excessive self-confidence and his criticism of his sister for being "wishy-washy", he was a failure as a businessman, and, in 1873, he decided to head out to Oregon via the Oregon Trail to engage in another business pursuit and have his sister marry a prospective partner. During the journey, his dog "President Pierce" annoyed other settlers, and Longabaugh himself met with misfortune when he fell ill with cholera and died not long after the party departed. His sister would later shoot herself to prevent herself from being captured and raped by Sioux warriors.